History of a Failure

Democratic processes are presumably about the sharing of power, broadening the number who help shape social decisions. But that sharing—in and of itself—means little apart from the purposes for which power is finally used.

To speak of end purposes, in turn, is to enter the realm of ethics. What are our ultimate goals? Whose interests do we seek to serve? How, in an increasingly cynical time, can we inspire people to a new set of aspirations—reaching beyond rampant materialism, the new relativism, self-serving individualism, and resurgent tribalism.

The search for justice and security, the struggle for equality of opportunity, the quest for tolerance and harmony, the pursuit of human dignity—these are moral imperatives which we must work and think about on a daily basis.

In the ethical realm—as in the educational realm—one of the great stumbling blocks is arrogance…

—Remarks by His Highness the Aga Khan at Evora University Symposium:
“Cosmopolitan Society, Human Safety and Rights in Plural and Peaceful Societies”
12 February 2006